Reborn As A Dust Sans [Undertale Multiverse]

Ch45 - Bluebells

Ashe's POV

'It's fine, Spooky,' you let out. You weren't exactly pleased the other now knew you had a ghostly sibling by your side, but you had to make do with it now. You ushered Blue into the room, and he complied, seemingly okay with being alone with you despite the apparent warning he had been given.

"So His Name Is Spooky, Then?" he let out curiously.

'Yeah. He doesn't like to be called Papyrus anymore. Um. Please don't tell Dream about him. He's not a threat or anything like that...' you explained to Blue.

It was a little bit of a fib/ Spooky could definitely be a threat - you had seen that firsthand when he possessed that Fell Papyrus a bit ago - but you hoped that him being perceived as harmless would make the other less likely to tell everybody he was here with you. You still wanted to keep his presence a secret, if at all possible.

"Er... If The Other's Don't Know He's Here..." the other let out uncertainly, clearly not wanting to agree to your request. His face suddenly flushed blue though, words setting in as he turned back to your brother. "Wait, Did You Just Call Me Cute!?"

"YEP! YOU'RE TINY LIKE ASHE! PLUS, YOU HEALED MY BROTHER WHEN HE WAS UNCONSCIOUS EVEN THOUGH THAT ROTTEN LEMON TOLD YOU NOT TO!"

You frowned at what you had heard. Dream didn't want you to be healed? Spooky had left out that little tidbit earlier.Stars, this whole situation was a mess. Why were the 'good' guys so... not good?

"I, Er, You Saw That?" the words tumbled from Blue's mouth awkwardly, seemingly surprised that the other knew about that.

"NYEH HEH HEH! THE AMAZING SPOOKY IS VERY GOOD AT HIDING!" he exclaimed, posing dramatically. "HOW DID YOU SPOT ME THOUGH? YOU SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SEE ME AT ALL!"

"I'm Not Meant To See You?" he questioned. "Why Not?"

'Spooky is a ghost. Normally only I can see him, unless he chooses to reveal himself,'  you explained. 'I know he probably looks pretty scary, but he helps look after me. He just wants me to be safe...'

"I Can Understand That. I, Er... Have A... Friend... Who Lots Of People Are Scared Of, But If People Just Stopped To Get To Know Him, They'd See He's Just A Grump. He Loves Knitting And Watching-- Er, A Show! Yep! Uh..." he stumbled on his words. It was clear he was trying to preserve the identity of whoever he was talking about, thus some of the vagueness. "My Point Is, Even The Scariest, Most Awful People, Can Still Have Good Inside Them."

"...I LIKE YOU, BLUE-BUT-NOT-BLUEBERRY-OR-BERRY!"

You were ashamed to admit that you snorted at Spooky's new nickname for the skeleton. 'Just call him Blue, Spooky. Calling him 'not Blueberry or Berry' is pretty much indirectly calling him both still.'

"OH. I SEE. IN THAT CASE, I LIKE YOU, BLUE! I WOULD SURPRISE ADOPT YOU IF YOUR FRIENDS WEREN'T SO HORRIBLE."

"I, Er, Appreciate That," Blue let out in response. "But What Do You Mean By Horrible? Ink And Dream Aren't Bad-"

"LEMONFACE IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE! SPLOTCHY IS KIND OF DUMB, BUT AT LEAST HE'S NOT MEAN LIKE THAT ROTTEN LEMON IS!"

"You Don't Like Dream? Like, specifically Dream?" Blue responded, seeming genuinely confused. "I Understand Maybe Ink, But, Um, I'm Just Surprised, Is All. Everybody Normally Likes Dream The Most Out Of Us Star Sanses..."

You curled in on yourself slightly, unsurprised Blue would come to the guardian's defence. Dream's aura probably made it easy to sway others' perception of him. Just remembering the hot feeling of it, suffocating, gripping you –

"ASHE, YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN. FOCUS ON YOUR BREATHING BEFORE YOU END UP SPIRALLING AGAIN," Spooky reassured, floating closer so he could hold you in a gentle hug.

"Stars, I Didn't Mean To Trigger A Panic Attack. Would It Be Better If I Left? I Don't Want To Make Things Worse..."

You shook your head, but stayed in SPooky's embrace, slowly steading your breathing. "I THINK ASHE WANTS YOU TO STAY. THEY JUST... NEED A FEW MINUTES."

"Do They Have Panic Attacks A Lot?' the other let out softly, expression both concerned and sympathetic.

"WELL, THEY HAD THEM A LOT BEFORE HORROR AND EVERYBODY ELSE STARTED LOOKING AFTER THEM. BEING HERE HAS BEEN WORSENING THEIR MENTAL HEALTH, THOUGH," Spooky explained.

His grip on you was warm. It was grounding. You could feel the suppression collar around your throat buzzing, itching like the crawling of ants, and as unpleasant as it was, it helped to keep you calm, to keep you focused on the present.

You took in a deep breath before finally trying to articulate your thoughts. '...I really don't like how his aura messes with me. And, uhm, his words get really confusing, and, uhm...." you trailed off, realising you didn't really know how to vocalise your feelings properly. 'Does he treat you nicely? He didn't seem to treat Ink very well.'

"Of Course He Treats Me–" he paused for the smallest moment, the tiniest flicker of hesitation. "...Fine. He Treats Me Fine. I Think He's Just Stressed," he said unconvincingly. "And, Uh, Being A God Means He Doesn't Understand That Us Mortals Are Different."

Was he trying to reassure you, or himself? It sort of felt like the latter. Maybe you could convince Blue to be on your side...

"I'm Sure He Just Wants To Help. Maybe You Should Talk To Him?" he suggested, clearly trying to reassure and comfort you. He wasn't outright dismissing your feelings, but it was clear he loved his friend and didn't want to talk poorly of them.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT. THE LAST TIME THEY 'TALKED', LEMONFACE JUST SPOKE OVER ASHE THE ENTIRE TIME! HE DIDN'T LISTEN AT ALL!" your sibling ranted angrily, grip on you tighter. Protective, much like the intent that was flooding your bond.

Blue backpedalled a bit. "I Don't Really Understand, But I Won't Push It If It Makes You Uncomfortable," he let out, hands raised in surrender. "You're Honestly A Lot Different Than I Was Expecting. I'll... Talk To Dream And Try To Convince Him To Leave You Alone. Just Let Me Know If You Need Anything Else, Okay? You Might Not Be On Our Side, But I Want To Make Your Stay As Comfortable As Possible."